Open flood gate & rain help Lake Freeman, but for how long?

WHITE COUNTY, Ind. (WLFI) — The open flood gate at the Norway Dam might be lowering levels on Lake Shafer, but water levels are up on Lake Freeman.

Lake Freeman has been drained over the summer to protect endangered mussels in the Tippecanoe River. While water levels on Freeman are back to normal Friday, no one knows how long that will last.

As News 18 has been reporting, the federal government mandates that Oakdale Dam keep its water flow of 500 cubic feet per second down the Tippecanoe River to protect endangered mussels. That has caused levels on Freeman to drop drastically in past couple of weeks. Now, it’s hard to tell that levels were ever low.

Monticello and Delphi were hit with 5.5-inches of rain throughout the Thursday night into Friday morning. Carroll County EMA Director Dana Jeffries said the water is also up because of the open flood gate at the Norway Dam on Lake Shafer.

Jeffries said he doesn’t expect these normal water levels to stick around. He says once they fix that flood gate, levels could possibly drop again.

At this time, Jeffries said the levels from the Oakdale Dam on Freeman are below flood stage.

News 18 will continue to monitor the water levels and bring you the latest information online and on News 18 at Five and Six. Watch the video above to see Brittany Tyner live on Lake Freeman on News 18 at Noon.